Trump tells Congress US is in ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels

WASHINGTON, United States (MNTV) — US President Donald Trump has formally notified Congress that the United States is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels, which his administration has designated as “terrorist organizations,” according to a report by The New York Times.

The confidential notice reportedly outlines the administration’s legal rationale for a series of three strikes last month that killed 17 people aboard suspected smuggling boats. It claims the operations were lawful acts of self-defense under the laws of armed conflict, arguing that the cartels’ drug trafficking constitutes “hostile acts” against the United States.

The report says the notice, marked “controlled but unclassified,” was sent to comply with a statute requiring the White House to inform lawmakers of any hostilities involving US armed forces.

In it, Trump is said to have determined that the cartels constitute “nonstate armed groups” whose actions amount to “an armed attack against the United States,” describing the situation as a “noninternational armed conflict.”

The notice does not identify which cartels were targeted or specify how individuals are being classified as “unlawful combatants.”

Senator Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, criticized the move, saying Trump appeared to be waging “secret wars” without congressional authorization or credible legal grounds.